A new proposed congressional map by Democrats creates a competitive district for U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, an Aurora Republican. His 6th District currently is a very safe GOP seat.

UPDATE:Shaffer weighs in.

NEW UPDATE:So does Coffman.

Democrats today proposed dramatic changes to Coloradoâ€™s congressional boundaries, an effort they said is aimed at making districts more competitive.

In other words, Republican Mike Coffman will have a fight on his hands.

Coffman said heâ€™d leave it up to the attorneys to argue the merits of their maps.

â€śWhatever happens, I’m a Marine Corps combat veteran and I look forward to running a tough race in whatever congressional district I’m in,â€ť he said.

In the Democratic map:

* Coffman’s very safe GOP seat in the 6th District now includes all of Aurora, parts of Adams and Weld counties and is very competitive.

* Douglas County moves out of the 6th to the 4th, to join Eastern Plains counties.

* Most of Larimer County moves out of the 4th into U.S. Rep. Jared Polis’ district, which includes Boulder.

* Sen. Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, who already has announce he is challenging Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, in the 4th, will now be in Polis’ district.

* Democrat Ed Perlmutter’s seat in the 7th Congressional District becomes more Republican and includes more of Jeffco.

Today was the deadline for Republicans and Democrats to filed proposed maps as part of their lawsuit over redrawing Colorado’s congressional lines to reflect population shifts in the last decade.

Republicans filed their copy of the map with Denver District Court on Friday. You can look at it by clicking here.

Attorney Scott Martinez, who worked on the Democrats’ map, said that “any moderate candidate of either party” has the ability to win in five of the seven districts.

“There is a problem right now in D.C. and this map is an attempt to solve that problem,” Martinez said, referring to gridlock.

The exceptions are CD 1, by Democrat Diana DeGette of Denver, and CD 5, by Republican Doug Lamborn of Colorado Springs. The registration in those districts is so lopsided that no matter which party draws the map, the expectation is a Democrat will represent the Denver-based district and a Republican will represent the Colorado Springs-based district.

Shaffer, meanwhile, released a statement saying, “It’s impossible to predict what a court will ultimately decide, but I’m confident we’ll end up with a map that is fair and competitive. I believe that means Longmont will remain in the 4th Congressional District.”

“The bottom line is that I’m running in the 4th CD,” he said.

“Congressman Cory Gardner has joined with the right-wing ideologues in risking the full faith and credit of this country, in voting to eliminate Medicare as we know it, and in an all out assault on a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions. The politics in Washington D.C. has moved from ‘broken’ to ‘embarrassing.’ It’s time for a change, and that’s why I’m running for Congress.”

Great. We need more competitive districts. Hopefully, it will lead to moderates.

Anonymous

On both wides of the aisle, Dems and Repubs. Oops. Only the Repub districts are more competitive Now there’s a big surprise. More entrenched Dem districts, and more competitive Republic districts. That is NOT more competitive. That is disingenuous.

Wengrovi

Did you read the article? Ed Perlmutter’s district is moreÂ competitiveÂ and the inclusion of all of Douglas County in CD 4 coupled with the exclusion of Fort Collins makes that district significantly more conservative. Â CD 6 is the only district with major changes in the Dems favor. Changes to CD 5 really don’t matter as that is a Dem district any way you slice it.. Â Changes to CD 3 (excluding SE Colorado) might have the effect of helping Dems, but it is still a pretty conservative district. Also on CD 3, this map makes more sense to me from a geographical standpoint. Â Does including Grand Junction and La Junta in the same district make seem rational?Â

Wengrovi

Did you read the article? Ed Perlmutter’s district is moreÂ competitiveÂ and the inclusion of all of Douglas County in CD 4 coupled with the exclusion of Fort Collins makes that district significantly more conservative. Â CD 6 is the only district with major changes in the Dems favor. Changes to CD 5 really don’t matter as that is a Dem district any way you slice it.. Â Changes to CD 3 (excluding SE Colorado) might have the effect of helping Dems, but it is still a pretty conservative district. Also on CD 3, this map makes more sense to me from a geographical standpoint. Â Does including Grand Junction and La Junta in the same district make seem rational?Â

PETER

A “fair” map drawn by either a republican, a democrat, a computer or an alien from mars should not be that different. But this isn’t about fair, this is about the democrats and republicans trying to get an edge. Â And in the end it all gets decided by an activist Supreme Court.

PETER

A “fair” map drawn by either a republican, a democrat, a computer or an alien from mars should not be that different. But this isn’t about fair, this is about the democrats and republicans trying to get an edge. Â And in the end it all gets decided by an activist Supreme Court.

Charity28

This will just lead to better liars running for office, promising the
world and delivering higher debt and taxes guaranteed. Guess what , the
abundance of morons who are allowed to vote will fall for it too.

KoryNParker

Even Wellington Webb admitted, on the record, that “competitiveness” is NOT a legitimate factor set out in the Colorado constitution for consideration in drawing these districts. Why is anyone even taking the discussion any further? Â Why not make CD1 more competitive then?

“Tradition” is more than a word; it describes the concept that entire communities of similar interests have been developed in regions that are not only based upon geographical and geological lines because of human migration and settlement patterns that follow both anthropological tendencies and transit corridors. To rip apart these communities arbitrarily in the pursuit of political power plays not only weakens these communities representation in our national government, but also exposes the hypocrisy of the Democrats. Shame, shame, shame.

Lynn Bartels

Kory, you wrote about Webb and “these districts.”

Webb was referring to legislative districts. My story is about congressional districts.

Lynn Bartels

Average Voter

I attended the 6th CD Redistricting Committee hearing in Castle Rock.Â Not one person, nor municipality, indicated they wanted to leave the 6th CD.Â In fact, the very opposite was true… even for those who advocated having the district more “competitive.”Â Obviously, the Republicans were listening.Â The Democrats had their fingers in their ears, chanting “Stop Mike Coffman before he takes out Mark Udall in 2014.”

The problem with “competitive” districts is that it automatically assumes that all registered Republicans will vote Republican and all registered Democrats will vote Democratic.Â This is like saying all women vote one way and all men vote another way… or all people of a certain religion, or ethnicity, all vote the same way.

I am hoping the judge remembers the ridiculous maps the Democrats had put forth earlier placing Boulder with Grand Junction, or Douglas County.Â Obviously, they have not been taking the process seriously… trying to win in court what they cannot achieve at the polls.

Quendi77

I may be registered with the GOP, but I thinkÂ both of these maps are a travesty….they group citizens together that have little in common geographically and economically, they’re nothing but political gambits.

Quendi77

I may be registered with the GOP, but I thinkÂ both of these maps are a travesty….they group citizens together that have little in common geographically and economically, they’re nothing but political gambits.

Donald Johnson

Last year, Republicans refused to support Tom Tancredo for governor. Elections have consequences. Democrats control Colorado and will redistrict the state as Blue as they please. Colorado Republicans will be in the whining gallery for a long time.

Â Republicans control a majority of states that they will redistrict.Â

Samkohnan

Hickenlooper would of won probably anyway. He used NO negative campaign ads had he had too, he would of easily destroyed Tom Tancredo.

Papakerbs

It is no better to gerrymander for competitive districts than it is to gerrymander for safe districts.Â Voter affiliationÂ is irrelevant.Â How arogantÂ that the DemsÂ they know how the people willÂ vote.

Papakerbs

It is no better to gerrymander for competitive districts than it is to gerrymander for safe districts.Â Voter affiliationÂ is irrelevant.Â How arogantÂ that the DemsÂ they know how the people willÂ vote.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_IXIO75G5SRHSQM6MJLTLXBMUX4 James Bowen

I live in the fourth and I don’t want this district to be safe for the likes of Cory Gardner andÂ that’sÂ what this proposal appears to do. We don’t need the Douglas County righties.

Anonymous

I thought theÂ state senators and represntatives were suppose toÂ be reprsentative of the people who comprised the district,Â Â Â they representÂ a commoness of water, energy and transportation needs.Â I don’t recall competitivness ever being a consideration to draw Â a district.Â Gerrymandering only splits neighbors into different districts and takes away their political power to achieve what they need in theirÂ common geographic area. If this was not true then why not have the citizens of Douglas County vote inÂ The denver Mayor’ race so that it would be more competitive?

Lynn Bartels thinks politics is like sports but without the big salaries and protective cups. The Washington Post's "The Fix" blog has named her one of Colorado's best political reporters and tweeters.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.